Book Review: But is it real?

But is it real? is aimed at answering the common questions that people have regarding Christianity. Orr-Ewing is obviously experienced at answering these questions and the book is easy to read. She deals with issues such as: 'Your relationship with God is just a psychological crutch'; 'How can you say you've found the truth, if you haven't tried all the alternatives?' and many of the other big questions that people ask. The questions and answers seem to be exactly right for this generation of uni students.[1]

My criticism of this book is that Orr-Ewing doesn't seem to be clear about who she is writing for. There are two groups of people who would read this book. One group is those who are genuinely asking these questions for themselves and are really wrestling with the implication of the answers. The second group are Christians whose friends are asking these questions and they are struggling to find the answers. The tone of the book slips between these two groups. For example, many stories of conversions in the book are incomprehensible to a person searching but are encouraging for a Christian trying to talk to their friends. Right now I am talking to S, a non-Christian asking these exact questions. Great, I think, this is the perfect book. But I am reluctant to give this book to him because he would freak out at the stories about people converting to Christianity.

So, I recommend this book highly but for Christians looking for answers for their friends. Orr-Ewing is clever, contemporary and able to communicate but she has mixed up her target audience. When I am encouraging people in evangelism I always suggest people write down the questions they can't answer and then work out a good answer - But is it real? would be perfect for that.

Read more: http://www.afes.org.au/_magazine/view?magazine=c34b3017f6e5eb815c162c84475410db